


In that Brightly Shining Era

by carsinoska



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-13
Updated: 2017-07-13
Packaged: 2018-12-01 16:18:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11490069
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carsinoska/pseuds/carsinoska
Summary: Z-one sees a familiar man and calls out his name, but in the end, neither of them seem to know each other. The other man suspects Z-one for knowing his name and it all goes downhill from there.





	In that Brightly Shining Era

**Author's Note:**

> title is from [gyoukou no uta](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4F9uW8FdT0) by sound horizon.
> 
> i kind of have this thing planned out, but please don't expect an update any time soon (´・ω・｀) antinomy and aporia will be making an appearance later
> 
> ....uh my "post canon AU" tag always just means that it takes place after yusei establishes the good end path for messhisei!

Z-one walked as fast as he could towards the lab without outright breaking into a jog. He kept checking his watch, hoping that he would make it on time. If he was lucky, he had a chance of being right on time, but that was only if he gave up his daily dose of caffeine.

Usually, he brought his own cup of coffee in the morning, but he woke up late, so he forgot it in his rush. If he didn’t have any coffee, he would surely get a terrible migraine later in the day, so he made a side trip to the coffee shop near the lab in resignation. He was already slightly late, so what difference would a few minutes longer be?

Walking out of the coffee shop was a tall man with short, blond hair. He couldn’t see the man’s face very well from afar, but something about him was vaguely familiar, like an old friend he hadn’t seen since childhood. His name, what was his name again?

“Ah- Paradox!” Z-one called out.

The man turned around, surprise and confusion on his face. If he was honest with himself, Z-one was also surprised and confused. Although he was under the impression that ‘Paradox’ was a childhood friend, he didn’t remember ever seeing such a peculiar face. Peculiar in the sense that the other man had a strange red mark under his eye and a very long eyebrow. Surely he would have remembered such a person.

“...Who are you?” the other man asked.

“S-sorry, I must have been mistaken,” Z-one replied, face flushed in embarrassment. Not only did he not recognize this person, but he also didn’t recognize Z-one. He wanted nothing more than to bury himself in the ground at the moment.

The man, whose name was probably Paradox, frowned. “I don’t have a particularly common name, you know. I’ll ask again: who are you?”

“Really, I was mistaken,” Z-one insisted.

Paradox’s frowned even more. “I suggest you stop lying and tell me the truth.”

“I truly, honestly, don’t know! When I looked at you, that name just came to mind.” Trying to avoid the scrutinizing stare of the other, Z-one looked blankly at his watch before the time registered in his mind. “Ah, I’m going to be late! I’m sorry, but I really have to go.” Z-one turned away, but then Paradox grabbed his arm. 

“Wait. At least give me your number, and we can sort this out later.”

“Um, all right.” Not that Z-one was particularly fond of giving his number to a stranger, but he supposed he’d rather that than the other thinking he was a stalker or something.

Z-one got to the lab on time, at least, but without coffee. He sighed, already imagining the oncoming headache. It was going to be a long day.

He checked his phone when he got home and was surprised to find a message. Usually he didn’t get any texts. But then he remembered that it was probably Paradox, and he hesitantly opened the message with dread.

_Hello, Mr. Not Stalker. Or is there another name I should call you?_

He could almost hear the other man’s icy tone through the words alone.

_My name is Z-one, he wrote. I’m sorry for this morning. It was just a misunderstanding._

_Again with that excuse. Is that all you have to say for yourself?_

Z-one was starting to get impatient with the other man. He understood why Paradox might think that way, but it was getting them nowhere. His finger lingered hesitantly over the ‘call’ button before he decided to press it. Paradox picked up immediately.

“Hello,” Paradox said in the exact same scathing tone that Z-one expected him to use.

“Hello, Paradox. Listen, how many times do I have to say it? I didn’t know you until this morning. Of course, it’s not like I can show you any proof, but I really mean it, and why can’t you just let it go? Can’t you tell when someone’s being serious? Well, if you can’t, let me tell you now: I’m serious. You know, I really hate people who won’t give up and who don’t listen,” Z-one ranted, his voice getting louder and more irate with every word.

“Hm? I didn’t think someone like you would have such a temper,” Paradox said in an amused voice.

Z-one flushed. He usually had a good control over his anger, but he showed it to a complete stranger over something rather minor. “Sorry, please ignore that.” Not to say that he wasn’t still mad at Paradox, but he was embarrassed that he showed his anger so easily.

“It was rather interesting. I suppose some of my initial impressions of you were wrong.”

“So you’re admitting that your accusation was wrong?” Z-one asked. He was glad that Paradox finally seemed to understand. 

“Not quite.”

Z-one groaned in frustration. Why was Paradox so stubborn? It was so typical of his friend, and even though he knew it, he was very irritated. Z-one blinked. Wait, friend? He had only met Paradox that day. Why would he think that? He didn’t think he wanted to be friends with such an irritating person anyways.

“Are you still there?” Paradox asked.

“Huh? Um, yes.” He had accidentally left the other hanging while he was caught up in his thoughts, he thought in embarrassment. But it did give him an idea. “Paradox, I’ll find a way to prove to you what kind of person I am. We can meet up and then I’ll show you! When are you free? Does this Saturday work?”

“...Why would I spend even more time with you?”

“Just give me one chance. I swear I’ll clear my name.”

There was a long silence, which compelled Z-one to tap on his desk anxiously. Finally, Paradox said, “Fine. Just this once.”

Z-one suppressed the urge to do a little victory dance. “Great! Then I’ll see you later!” The faster he could get the matter cleared up, the better.

He didn’t see Paradox the rest of that week. Maybe it was because Z-one wasn’t running late or maybe it was because Paradox was trying to avoid him until the weekend. He wasn’t too surprised. Despite working for the same company for a couple years, he didn’t remember seeing Paradox at all during that time. He would see him on Saturday though, so it didn’t matter for the moment.

Z-one wondered why he knew the other man’s name in the first place. He was right, ‘Paradox’ wasn’t a common name; it wasn’t something you could just guess. If there was someone at school with that name, he’d have surely remembered them. Z-one was at a loss. But there was no point dwelling on it, he thought.

On Friday night, Z-one realized belatedly that he had no idea what he was going to say the next day. He also didn’t know what he was going to wear. He started pacing about in his room, trying to calm his nerves.

“Wait. Why am I acting like this? It’s not like it’s a date…!” He said to himself. Rather than a date, the meeting may be more important than that. For one, Z-one wasn’t fond of getting criminal charges pressed against him. For another, he wanted to prove the other wrong simply out of spite. Paradox’s haughty attitude just rubbed him in the wrong way.

Come the day of reckoning, Z-one was a nervous wreck. In his fretting, he didn’t get much sleep. Hoping to sort out his nerves before Paradox came, he arrived rather early. Every time the door swung open, Z-one turned with trepidation. Instead of clearing his mind, he kept thinking of what could go wrong. What if they just sat in awkward silence the whole time? What if Paradox actually filled some report on him? What if--

“Hello,” someone said, pulling him out of his thoughts.

Z-one looked up. There Paradox was, frowning as usual. He was wearing a fashionable pea coat and slim pants. He had to admit, the man definitely cut an impressive figure. Z-one, on the other hand, preferred a conservative style to blend into the background, not trying to look too messy, nor too flashy.

“H-hi. Uh, have a seat. So, um. How are you…?” he asked hesitantly.

“Fine. But rather than small talk, I’d prefer if you got right to the point.”

“Right… Well...” He cleared his throat. He couldn’t let his nerves get the best of him. “Let’s start over with proper introductions. Hi, I’m Z-one, 25 years old. I work at Ark Research Institute, studying Moment. Nice to meet you,” he said.

“My name is Paradox, though I suppose you know that already. ...I’m also a researcher.”

Well, he still seemed closed off, but at least they were on more even ground now.

“Oh? What do you study?” Z-one asked. If there was one thing he was certain about, it was that people always loved talking about their research. Hopefully, he could get Paradox to ease up a little bit.

“Solid Vision, improving it and the like. As you know, it’s advanced quite far already, but what if we could push it further?” Paradox’s face suddenly lit up when talking about his research, just as Z-one expected. When Paradox wasn’t glaring at him, he was somewhat charming, he had to admit. “This research is based off something very personal of mine, so I’m sure it is possible. It’s just a matter of time and resources.” He looked like he was going to say something else, but stopped himself. “...But I shouldn’t tell you much more. Confidentiality and all.”

“Ha ha, of course,” Z-one said. He understood those security restrictions well.

“But about Moment… What exactly is your research about?”

“Hm, maybe it’d be more accurate to say that it’s about the Fortune program? There are just some, uh,” Z-one paused, trying to think of a way to be vague about the details while still explaining the concept. “There are some interesting features about it, and we just wanted to find out what exactly it was supposed to prevent. Well, of course, everyone already knows the reason it was initially developed, the Machine Emperors, but what does it really try to prevent? There’s a significantly reduced chance of reversal of Moment, but was it really the reversed Moment that gave birth to the Machine Emperors, or something else…?” He shook his head. “That’s basically what I’m looking into.”

“Hm, I understand what you’re saying. But doesn’t it sound like a conspiracy theory?” Paradox chuckled.

“Maybe, but can you say you’re not curious as well?”

“Of course I’m curious. I never said I wasn’t.”

Z-one smiled. Finally, Paradox seemed at ease with him. The two of them spent their time leisurely discussing recent scientific advances and before they knew it, the sky was dyed with a golden orange. Z-one’s cheeks hurt from smiling for so long, but he couldn’t help it. Paradox was genuinely interesting to talk to, and Z-one admittedly didn’t get out much.

“It’s already this late, huh,” Paradox said, looking at his watch. 

“Oh! Sorry for keeping you so long. Did you have anything else you had to do today?”

“Not exactly. Don’t worry about it. This talk of ours wasn’t unpleasant.”

Z-one had gotten so caught up in their conversation, to the point where he almost forgot the reason they met up in the first place. “Then, you mean…!”

Paradox nodded. “Though it wasn’t as if I had honestly meant to do anything about it in the first place.”

What? A cold anger filled his head. What did he mean? Did he stress himself over nothing? Take a deep breath, he told himself, getting upset wouldn’t change anything. “So what you’re saying is… you were lying before.” If so, he was a decent actor. Z-one would give him that, at least.

“I wouldn’t call it that. I suppose I changed my mind after that phone call of yours.”

Z-one’s flushed in embarrassment when he remembered that day. He wanted to forget his outburst.

“So, with that said, I wouldn’t mind doing this again.”

“Huh? Oh.” He was still a little dazed and didn’t quite register Paradox’s words until a moment later. “I mean, uh, sure! Yes! Of course.”

“Excellent,” Paradox said, and smiled reservedly. It suited him; Z-one couldn’t imagine any other kind of smile he would make.

Honestly, Z-one was still a vexed with Paradox’s little act from before, but that was mostly because he was a spiteful person himself. He didn’t have much of a social life in the first place, and Paradox seemed like an interesting person to get to know, so he wasn’t objecting to this outcome of events. In fact, he was even starting to look forward to their next meeting.


End file.
